OKAY, so the House may be down for the summer, Mr. Editor, but I am not out. Not yet anyhow . . . although I am sure that neither of us expected that I would be back writing to you so soon after closing. It's only been two weeks and there are 14 more to go before we resume again.

But it isn't withdrawal that I am suffering from (I don't think, Mr. Editor) rather I thought this might be an appropriate time to reflect on the recently-concluded legislative session ? while events were still fresh in the mind. I also wanted to pay tribute to my former colleague, the Honourable John Irving Pearman, who died over the weekend

First, what prompted me to start writing was the headline on Saturday in , "Sessions House faces 'mammoth' repair work", and the release earlier in the week of the report, "Charting Our Course: Sustaining Bermuda".

What particularly caught my eye in the Report was a chapter entitled "Transforming Governance and the Public Sector".

The authors got my attention, too, when they wrote: "The success of the Sustainable Development Strategy and Implementation Plan, and ultimately the future viability of Bermuda, lies in an effective and accountable Government Civil Service."

Good stuff, I thought, Mr. Editor. It was also encouraging to read that "consultees" ? people whom they consulted, I presume? ? had raised the need for:

Transparency in the workings of Government.

An effective and accountable civil service.

Better consultation with the stakeholders.

The authors continued on the right track when they observed that: "This will mean transforming the machinery of government and decision-making processes in order to embed sustainable development principles into the daily work of the public sector."

Now I appreciate, Mr. Editor, that their concern is for what the changes can do for the, er, development, of the principle of sustainable development, but I thought the Report started to lose the plot when it listed as options for action the following:

A Sustainable Development Unit consisting of a Director and at least two other staff members, reporting directly to the Premier.

Keeping abreast of international best practices by linking up with the UN.

Instituting ongoing peer reviews.

Developing clear goals, identifiable business plans and ensuring "budgetary rigour" (won't the Accountant General just love that one, Mr. Editor?).

Regular public reporting of progress via annual reports.

Pay and promotion based on performance.

It all sounds good, I suppose, but you have to wonder about the efficacy of what's proposed. These are not new mechanisms. Some of them have been around for a while and have proved ineffective. Neither is it the experience here in Bermuda ? or elsewhere for that matter ? that accountability comes from increased bureaucracy.

Excuse me, Mr. Editor, but we don't so much need new tools as we need to sharpen the ones which we already have in the toolbox.

The Report notes some initiatives which have been steps in the right direction: the establishment of the office of Ombudsman and the promised introduction of PATI, Public Access To Information legislation. The authors also go on to recommend that we review the role of Parish Councils and Government Boards to maximise them as forums for community action and public debate.

But, in my view Mr. Editor, they stopped well short of what is actually needed to truly transform governance in a way that is sorely needed.

Yes, I am about to get serious here. Tres serious.

We need to re-balance the relationship between Parliament and the Government if we want to attain better accountability and actual transparency within government. To make it happen, we must develop an environment in which those who are responsible for the management of government, whether Minister or civil servant, know that they will be held accountable for any deficiencies in their stewardship of the public purse.

An enhanced role for Parliament and parliamentary committees in supervising and enforcing accountability for financial administration is a must, and must be pursued if a new environment is to become a working reality.

Yes, people, I am on about parliamentary reform again ? I know, I know, a favourite and ongoing rant of mine. But folks, we need parliamentary procedures which can provide adequate mechanisms to enforce the accountability of the executive, i.e. the Cabinet, to Parliament. Ours really don't ? and they need to be overhauled to include:

A more active bipartisan committee structure, adequately resourced and appropriate to the size of our Legislature, with the power to summon witnesses, including Cabinet Ministers. Government should also be required to announce publicly, within clearly defined time periods, their responses to committee reports and recommendations.

Opening up meetings of committees to the public and the press.

Beefing up the Public Accounts Committee and increasing its membership so its work cannot be frustrated by failures to muster a quorum, and make it mandatory that PAC review on a regular basis expenditure on major Government contracts.

A Question Period to provide members with the opportunity to question Ministers on the issues of the day, i.e. no more hiding behind Ministerial Statements or having to wait ten days for answers to parliamentary questions.

I wouldn't stop there either. Parliament should be adopting and developing procedures which will allow for the preliminary examination of issues in proposed legislation in such a way that the public can come in on the debate. There should be:

Far better public exposure of issues, papers and draft legislation, all of which should posted and available on a web site for the Legislature.

A minimum period of delay between introduction and debate on any matter ? of say, two weeks ? which cannot be waived except by consent or the vote of a significant majority ? of say, two-thirds ? of the House.

Referral of major legislation to a standing committee of the House for close and detailed examination, including if necessary receiving and reviewing submissions from the general public.

I don't claim that any of these are original. Most of them are standard elsewhere and many of the suggestions, if not all, feature each year at annual meetings of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association, of which Bermuda is a member, and to which meetings we happily send off delegates year after year after year. We know all about international best practice, Mr. Editor, we just don't practice it here.

There isn't the will to get on with it. The Opposition UBP recommended changes over two years ago ? for a second time ? and they were referred to the Rules and Privileges Committee of the House for review.

There they remain: gone to committee, no doubt, Mr. Editor, to die.

No development, sir, sustainable or otherwise.

PS: The PLP Government has the majority on that committee. You can take it that, to date, they have shown that they are not interested in the mammoth repair which the House on the Hill really needs.

Promises, promises

N further reflection, Mr. Editor, the way we ended this session was something of a surprise ? and, no, I'm not just talking about part 2 of the smash-and-grab pay packet fiasco. We didn't get the usual summary of all the great things Government had done over the course of the parliamentary year by way of Ministerial Statement from the Premier.

Of course, the Premier wasn't there. But I suspect that wasn't the only reason why we didn't get the usual.

A lot of what they promised in the 2005 Throne Speech never happened. You can look it up. Here's a quick half a dozen or so promises which they made back in November but which were not fulfilled:

Amendments to the Matrimonial Causes Act to provide for family counselling and mediation.

An online Child Protection Bill.

Amendments to the Young Offenders and Misuse of Drugs legislation to divert young offenders away from incarceration and into counselling and rehabilitation.

Amendments to the Charities Act to give Charity Commissioners increased regulatory authority, and to strengthen reporting requirements.

Legislation to establish a DNA database in Bermuda.

Amendments to the Contributory Pensions Act, National Pension Scheme (Occupational Pensions) Act and the Taxes Management Act to hold directors of companies legally responsible for unpaid pension payments and taxes.

More bite in the Dogs Act by increasing penalties and strengthening enforcement.

I guess there would have been some explaining to do.

There still is.

Like what really has become of amendments to provide for absentee balloting? They were presented over a year ago, in the form of draft legislation, for review and comment, and we have heard nothing since.

It's not all bad though, Mr Editor. The PLP also promised in the November 2005 Throne Speech that Government was planning public meetings up and down the island on the BIC Report, to be followed by a Green Paper and then White Paper on Independence.

Maybe the polls on Independence are not going unnoticed after all. What we need next is the commitment to have the referendum and be done with it.